AEG Trail #5: Roman Road
This is the 5th of a series of 9 caches in an enjoyable 2.6 km circuit taking in some varied scenery and environments to the south of the village. See the Trail Map for the route and points of interest - including cache locations. See here for a description of one of the numerous walks around Addingham - which includes the route of this trail.
The trail originally had 6 caches marking key points of interest as per the guided tour at the annual Environment Day held in May 2017.
The cache, a small screw-topped camo-taped plastic tube, is a replacement for Pippy P Poopypants' cache GC78JZ9 AEG Trail4 hidden on 8/7/17 and archived on 18/1/19 after some 30 finds.
From the new #4 the trail crosses the field to its western end where the cache is hidden at the start of the continuation of the narrow trail between the road and the new housing estate heading to the nature reserve.
Original text [+ added notes]:'on the way to the nature reserve, this path follows the route of the Roman road that joins on to Moor Lane heading over to Skipton [this probably describes the stretch heading alongside the A65 to the field where the new #4 is]. Wooden decking has been laid as previously the path was a perpetual quagmire . . . [this refers to the section after this cache heading towards the nature reserve section].
Although reference is made to this stretch of the walk being along an old Roman Road, this may not be correct. The road referred to is one which went from Ribchester (Bremetennacum Veteranorum) via Elslack (Olenacum?) and Ilkley (Olicana? or Verbia?) to York (Eboracum) - all sites of Roman forts. This is referred to by the RRRA (see below) as RR72a.
The routes of Roman roads in Britain are being researched and updated by the Roman Road Research Association (RRRA - see here) to bring knowledge about these roads 'into the 21st century'. A gazeteer under preparation will present the results of the first comprehensive survey of all Britain’s Roman roads since Ivan Margary’s final edition of 'Roman Roads in Britain' in 1973.
The main tool used in this research is Environmental Agency data from LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) which uses laser technology to scan and map the English landscape.
This LIDAR data bonanza has been hugely helpful to archaeologists wanting to map Roman roads that have been ‘lost’ - some for 1000s of years. Their discoveries are providing clues to a forgotten chapter in the history of Roman Britain - the roads the Romans built to help their legions conquer and control northern England. For more info see here. Note: EA maps have been accessed and used under the terms of Open Government Licence v3.0.
Often there are vague indicators of a route but not enough evidence to be sure. LIDAR reveals ‘aggers’– a Roman embankment or rampart. If 2-3km of these are seen running dead straight then it can only be a Roman road.
The route of the Elslack-Ilkley road section which passes through Addingham is detailed here (see also map). From this it would appear that the area where the cache is hidden is some distance to the south. Of course, rather than a road, it may well have been an ancient track which joined the road at some point west of the village.
The general route of the RR72a Ribchester-York road is now known fairly well throughout its course, largely thanks to good lidar coverage. The stretch with the most uncertainty is between Draughton and Chelker Reservoir, one of the few areas where there is no LIDAR coverage yet. When the Environment Agency completes its new LIDAR survey in 2020, that remaining question should be answered.